Tag Archives: Grocery

Retail Data Systems is Now Power Leader in Custom Solutions for the Independently Owned Grocery Industry in Southeast

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May 15, 2014, Marietta, GA – Retail Data Systems (www.rdspos.com), the largest provider of Point of Sale hardware and software to independently-owned grocery stores in North America, has announced that industry veteran Steve Balentine is now heading up efforts in the Southeastern Grocery Division. Balentine is well-known throughout the industry for his exceptional capacity for understanding the complexities of his grocery clients’ needs. Retail Data Systems is the leader in full service solutions and custom integrations with a robust suite of POS-related products. This powerful combination of experienced leadership and nationwide resources has made Retail Data Systems a power player in the Southeastern Independent Grocery industry.

Recently named a Premier Point of Sale VAR of NCR products, Retail Data Systems can provide the most powerful technology that has been developed with successful grocery management in mind. NCR is the global leader in consumer transaction technologies, turning everyday interactions with businesses into exceptional experiences. Custom integration solutions are the key to getting the most from your POS related hardware and software, and RDS is leading the field with the most integration solutions for wireless and cloud-based products. To read more about our suite of grocery products, click here.

Walt Davis, General Manager of RDS Southeast, said “All the pieces of the puzzle have come together over the last 6 months for RDS to provide the ultimate experience for grocery businesses. From running the business back room to the customer interactions, we can provide all the products and services needed to create an outstanding business model. Our variety of products and services provides the added benefit of a one-call to fix any issues that may arise.”

About Retail Data Systems

Retail Data Systems (www.rdspos.com) is the largest provider of Point of Sale hardware and software in North America. Founded in 1950, RDS now operates over 25 offices serving customers across the nation providing complete Point of Sale technology. Our team of over 400 professionals ensures our customers the best 24/7/365 service available. Our list of industry leading POS hardware and software products provide a variety of solutions for companies large and small.

Media Contact for RDS Southeast:

Mary Koronkowski

Retail Data Systems SE

Marketing Communications Manager

mkoronkowski@rdspos.com

678.279.8052 t

rdspos.com

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Old Scanner Scales Cause Shrink

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Scanner Scales, are one of the most important yet most take for granted pieces of equipment in a grocery store. Without scales transaction times would be slower, reports would be a disaster and shrink would be an even larger problem. However many store owners with older outdated scales are not fully realizing that having an older outdated scanner-scale can create some of the same problems as not scanning at all and can reduce the effectiveness of your investment in back office, point of sale and other systems. Below we list many of the areas that your older scales may be hurting you more than helping.

Coupons are a huge source of shrink for the store owner with an older scale. New GS1-Databar codes cannot be read by older scanner scales requiring manual entry of the coupon causing errors and taking up a lot of time. Manual entry can also lead to discounts being given on expired coupons or coupons for items that were not even in the cart.

One of the largest sources of shrink is the overhang. This is when the bunch of bannanas your busy cashier is weighing is leaning on the back of the check stand or that long stalk of celery is laying partially on the counter and partially on the platter. Studies have shown that a grocery store can lose about 5-10% of the weighed value of their produce this way. Don’t believe it? Walk through your produce department and count all the items you have that are weighted that are to some degree longer than the platter or that can be leaned on the back of the platter.

Another inefficiency of older scanner scales is that they often have a hard time reading bar codes quickly requiring re-scans and slowing up lines giving customers the impression that checking out in your store, takes alot of time with re-orienting or rescanning. Also when re-scans lead to manually entering in the bar code how long does that take? Or worse…entering in the dollar amount and a department. The more our cashiers need to manually do things the less accurate our movement reports get.

Last older scales wear out they break down and they run slower than more modern scales. Many grocers play scanner roulette by rotating bad, old slower scanners to lanes that are not often used only to forget about them and have an inefficient or worse an inoperable lane when traffic picks up.

Does your store need a more modern, updated scanner scale ? Take a look at the items above. Watch your cashiers for leaned items and overhangs, do an audit of your coupons, watch how long it takes a large basket of groceries to get through one of your check out lane and most importantly ask your customers, “Does it take longer to buy from my store than it does other stores?” You’ll be surprised at what they might tell you.

What is all the fuss with 2D barcodes anyway and why should I care?

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You likely have seen these smaller almost static looking barcode like images everywhere called QR Codes.   This group of codes, called 2D barcodes, are the next generation of scalable information.   The traditional 1D barcodes seen on most products contain a series of 10-20 characters that are read by measuring the thickness and width of horizontal lines.  These codes are used to reference an external database for more information.  This is much like the license plate on your car.  Not a lot of information there.  But you can use the license plate number to find out a lot of information from another database.  The 2D barcode uses geometry and space to contain much more information in much less space.  It does not need a database to access to get the info.  The info is imbedded in the code.  2D barcodes can contain a massive amount of information.   In fact the entire Gettysburg Address can be contained in a code about the size of a postage stamp.

So what?   What are the applications?

In pharmaceuticals, 2D codes already track manufacturing information, lot numbers, allergy information, drug interaction warnings, side effects, dosage recommendations, etc.  Yes all of that in one tiny code!

A 2D barcode in the grocery store has several applications both customer facing and at the checkout.

For your customers, QR Codes can be printed on store signage linking to or containing online specials, recipes, food information, etc.   Additionally, you probably have seen these small codes in magazines, mobile applications, newspapers on signs, etc.  Marketing is embracing these codes as the number of people with phones capable of reading these codes is currently over 1 Billion worldwide and climbing.   Another application is linking to a webpage for a promotion such as your weekly ad or daily specials.  2D Barcodes particularly QR codes are a great way to drive traffic and loyalty in your store.

One of our favorite applications is scanning the 2D code on the back of a driver’s license to verify age and identity for the purchase of tobacco and liquor.   This helps eliminate human error or situations where employees purposely let underage individuals purchase those products without checking ID.

For the grocer it will fast become important that your scanning environment be able to accommodate 2D codes.  One of the biggest emerging consumer facing applications has been mobile couponing.  Over $5.4 Billion in coupons will be redeemed by the end of 2012 with this number expected to grow to over $43 Billion by the end of 2016.  As adoption quickly increases, it is important to consider that if your scanners cannot read these codes you could run into slower transaction speeds or the inability to work with certain coupons.

2D barcodes are here to stay for the foreseeable future and we will see more and more applications of them in the years to come.   For information on 2D barcode scanning technology or to see if your current environment is ready for this technology, please contact your local RDS Office.   Please note that in order to scan these codes in your store you may require more than just a 2D capable scanner.   Additional software upgrades or hardware may be required.